Abstract
BackgroundDNA adducts are widely used marker of DNA damage induced by environmental pollutants. The present study was designed to explore whether sperm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts were associated with sperm DNA integrity and semen quality.MethodsA total of 433 Han Chinese men were recruited from an infertility clinic. Immunofluorescence was applied to analyze sperm PAH-DNA adducts. Sperm DNA fragmentation was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (Tdt)-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay.ResultsAfter adjustment for potential confounders using linear regression, sperm PAH-DNA adducts were negatively associated with sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm motility, and curvilinear velocity (VCL). In addition, a positive relationship between sperm PAH-DNA adducts and sperm DNA fragmentation was found.ConclusionsOur findings suggested an inverse association between sperm PAH-DNA adducts and semen quality, and provided the first epidemiologic evidence of an adverse effect of PAH-DNA adducts on sperm DNA integrity.
Highlights
DNA adducts are widely used marker of DNA damage induced by environmental pollutants
Accumulating evidence suggest that sperm DNA integrity is essential for the accurate transmission of genetic information, and any form of sperm DNA damage may result in male infertility regardless of the number, motility and morphology of spermatozoa [25,26]
Studies of sperm DNA damage have largely been limited to measurement of strand breaks or oxidative DNA damage [27], little is known about other types of DNA damage such as bulky DNA adducts in human sperm
Summary
DNA adducts are widely used marker of DNA damage induced by environmental pollutants. The present study was designed to explore whether sperm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts were associated with sperm DNA integrity and semen quality. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread pollutants in the environment that are generated by the incomplete burning of organic substances. It has been reported that the creatinine-adjusted 1-OHP metabolites levels in Nanjing region is 16-fold higher than in U.S populations [4]. This result suggests Chinese adult males are highly exposed to PAHs in the environment, so the potential health hazard of PAHs deserve more attention in China. Several studies suggested the relationship between air pollution exposure to PAHs and increased sperm DNA damage [9,10]
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